1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a new tape cassette and, more particularly, to a tape cassette provided with a lid for protecting, when the tape cassette is not in use, a recording medium tape at a portion that is outside a cassette case accommodating the tape, wherein the lid is assembled on the tape cassette easily.
The present invention relates to a new tape cassette and, more particularly, to a tape cassette provided with a lid for covering and protecting, when the cassette tape is not in use, a recording medium tape accommodated in a cassette case of the tape cassette at a portion exposed outside the cassette case. An attitude of the lid when the lid is moving between a lid closed position in which the lid covers the recording medium tape when the tape cassette is not in use and a lid open position in which the lid exposes the cassette tape when the tape cassette is in use is controlled by slidably engaging a guided pin formed on a face opposite to the lid along a guide groove formed on an external face of the cassette case. This setup facilitates the engagement of the guided pin of the lid with the guide groove of the cassette case.
The present invention relates to a new tape cassette and, more particularly, to a tape cassette for use with a small-sized tape cassette on a same recording/reproducing apparatus, wherein a recording medium tape accommodated in the new tape cassette is prevented from being damaged when a front lid of the new tape cassette provided for protecting the recording medium tape is opened.
2. Description of the Related Art
A tape cassette is known in which a lid is provided for protecting, when the tape cassette is not in use, a recording medium tape accommodated in the tape cassette at a portion exposed outside thereof.
For example, some video tape cassettes have a lid for protecting, when they are not in use, a magnetic tape accommodated in them at a portion exposed outside thereof.
FIGS. 23 through 25 show an example "a" of the above-mentioned video tape cassettes.
In the above-mentioned figures, a magnetic tape c is accommodated inside a cassette case b, wound around tape reels, not shown. A portion of the magnetic tape c is drawn outside the cassette case b. When the video tape cassette is not in use, this portion is positioned along the front of a recess d, known as a mouth of the tape cassette, formed at the center of the cassette case b and opens forward as well as upward and downward.
A lid e protects the portion of the magnetic tape c positioned along the front of the mouth d when the magnetic tape c is not in use. This lid is composed of a front lid f, a back lid g, and a top lid h.
The front lid f is swingably supported on the front portion of the cassette case b and formed to cover the front face of the magnetic tape c positioned along the front side of the mouth d when the lid is in the closed position.
The top lid h swingably couples at a front end thereof with the front lid f and engages at guided pins j, j protrusively provided on the inner face of a rear end of side portions i, i thereof with guide grooves k, k formed on the right and left side faces of the cassette case b. The top lid h is adapted to cover the top side of the magnetic tape c positioned along the front face of the mouth d when the lid is in the closed position.
The back lid g is swingably supported at a top end thereof on the lower center portion of the top lid h. And guided pins, not shown, formed on the lower end of the back lid g are slidably engaged with guide grooves, not shown, formed on right and left inner faces of the mouth d. The back lid g is formed to cover, when the lid is in the closed position, the rear face and lower side of the magnetic tape c positioned along the front side of the mouth d.
The above-mentioned lid e moves between the closed position indicated with a solid line of FIG. 23 and the open position indicated with a double dot & dash line of FIG. 23. The attitude of the top lid h while moving between the closed position and the open position is controlled by the movement of a swivel fulcrum at the front end of the front lid f produced when the front lid f swivels and the movement of the guided pins j, j along the guide grooves k, k.
A recording/reproducing apparatus on which both large-sized and small-sized tape cassettes may be used, or a compatible-type recording/reproducing apparatus is known. For example, such an apparatus is disclosed in European Application No. 94305073.2 (filed Jul. 11, 1994) by the same applicant as the present application. In the above-mentioned compatible-type recording/reproducing apparatus, parts and devices common to both large and small cassettes are used as far as possible to prevent the apparatus from getting complicated.
For example, to make common a tape pull-out member for drawing a recording medium tape out of a cassette case and to make common the movement of the tape pull-out member, a recess called a mouth in which the tape pull-out member is inserted when a tape cassette is loaded in the recording/reproducing apparatus is made generally common in size for large and small tape cassettes.
Also, a covering member called a lid is provided on the tape cassette to protect the recording medium tape at a portion exposed outside the tape cassette when the cassette tape is not in use.
The above-mentioned lid is in the closed position to protect the recording medium tape when the cassette tape is not in use. When the cassette tape is in use, the lid must be moved to the open position where the lid does not interfere with the travel of the recording medium tape.
The movement of the lid to the open position is provided by a lid opening member provided on the recording/reproducing apparatus.
However, for a tape cassette used together with a small tape cassette, if, as described above, the mouth is made generally the same for both large and small tape cassettes, the lid opening member for the small tape cassette passes in front of the large tape cassette. This requires to form a recess on the front portion of the large tape cassette to permit the passing of the lid opening member of the small tape cassette.
A recording/reproducing apparatus on which both large-sized and small-sized tape cassettes may be used, or a compatible-type recording/reproducing apparatus is known.
In the above-mentioned compatible-type recording/reproducing apparatus, parts and devices common to both large and small cassettes are used as far as possible to prevent the apparatus from getting complicated.
For example, to make common a tape pull-out member for drawing a recording medium tape out of a cassette case and to make common the movement of the tape pull-out member, a recess called a mouth in which the tape pull-out member is inserted when a tape cassette is loaded in the recording/reproducing apparatus is made generally common in size for large and small tape cassettes.
Also, a covering member called a lid is provided on the tape cassette to protect the recording medium tape at a portion exposed outside the tape cassette when the cassette tape is not in use.
The above-mentioned lid is in the closed position to protect the recording medium tape when the cassette tape is not in use. When the cassette tape is in use, the lid must be moved to the open position where the lid does not interfere with the travel of the recording medium tape.
The movement of the lid to the open position is provided by a lid opening member provided on the recording/reproducing apparatus.
However, for a tape cassette used together with a small tape cassette, if, as described above, the mouth is made generally the same for both large and small tape cassettes, the lid opening member for the small tape cassette passes in front of the large tape cassette. This requires to form a recess on the front portion of the tape cassette used together with the small tape cassette to permit the passing of the lid opening member of the small tape cassette.
An example of the above-mentioned tape cassette used together with a small-sized tape cassette is shown in FIGS. 30 through 32.
In the figures, reference numeral 101 indicates a tape cassette and reference numeral 102 indicates a cassette case of the tape cassette. A mouth 103 is formed on the center front of the cassette case 102. Further, tape exits 104, 104 are formed on both sides of the mouth 103.
A part of a magnetic tape 105 accommodated in the cassette case 102 is pulled out of the cassette case 102 at one of the tape exits 104, 104 to be positioned along the front of the mouth 103.
Reference numeral 106 indicates a front lid for protecting the portion of the magnetic tape 105 exposed out of the cassette case 102 when the cassette tape is not in use. In the front lid 106, a plate-shaped front portion 107 fully covering the front of the cassette case 102 is integrally formed with side portions 108, 108 projecting backward from both ends of the front portion 107. The side portions 108, 108 are swingably secured on the cassette case 102 at its sides toward its front end.
Reference numeral 109 indicates a recess formed at a position adjacent to the mouth 103 at the front end of a bottom wall 110 of the cassette case 102.
When the tape cassette 101 is loaded on the recording/reproducing apparatus, a lid opening member 111 provided on the recording/reproducing apparatus for a small tape cassette passes the recess 109 relatively, thereby preventing the lid opening member 111 from interfering with the loading of the tape cassette 101.
Reference numeral 112 indicates a closing projection protrusively provided on the front lid 106 at a position corresponding to the recess 109 when the lid is closed. The projection 112 is formed in a shape and a size that complement the recess 109.
Consequently, when the front lid 106 is in the closed position with the cassette tape being not in use, the closing projection 112 gets in the recess 109 of the cassette case 102 to close the recess 109 downward, thereby preventing dust and other undesired matter from penetrating from the recess 109 into the cassette case 102.
Related art: the following five applications filed by the same applicant as the present application are related to the present invention:
1. European unscreened publication No. 0599718 (publication date: Jun. 1, 1994). PA0 2. European unscreened publication No. 0614185 (publication date: Sep. 7, 1994). PA0 3. European application No. 94303699.6 (filing date: May 24, 1994). PA0 4. Japanese application No. 05277302 (filing date: Oct. 12, 1993). PA0 5. Japanese application No. 05313788 (filing date: Dec. 14, 1993).
Of the above-mentioned applications, Nos. 1, 2, 3 and 5 have been filed in the United States and Japan and No. 5 has been filed in the United States and Europe.
Now, turning to problems of the related art of the above-recited related applications, the above-mentioned conventional tape cassette requires to support the fulcrum pins e, e on brackets b, b, by bending the brackets b, b, resulting in a relatively low efficiency in assembly work.
In addition, if a force orthogonal to the axis of the fulcrum pins e, e is applied to a supported member d, the force is totally applied to the fulcrum pins e, e, thereby making it necessary for the fulcrum pins e, e to be relatively thick to ensure the mechanical strength of the fulcrum pins e, e. This, in turn, prevents tape cassette from being reduced in size.
Further, in the above-mentioned construction of the conventional tape cassette, if a relatively large interval cannot be provided between a member formed with a receiving portion and a member adjacent thereto, for example, if a back lid is swingably supported on the under face of a top lid lying over the top face of the cassette case when the lid is in the open position, a relatively large interval cannot be provided between the top lid and the top face of the cassette case. This makes it impossible to employ the construction itself shown in the figures.
With respect to the conventional viedo tape cassettes illustrated in FIGS. 23 through 25, another problem is a relatively poor efficiency in assembly work in engaging the guided pins j, j of the top lid h with the guide grooves k, k of the cassette case b of the aforementioned tape cassette a.
To be more specific, the above-mentioned engagement requires to make an interval between the guided pins j, j larger than an interval between external side faces of the cassette case b. To do so, the top lid h needs to be bent as shown in FIG. 25. Thus, engaging the guided pins j, j with the guide grooves k, k of the cassette case b while bending the top lid h significantly reduces the efficiency of assembly work.
Further, if the top lid h is bent as shown in FIG. 25, its ends formed with guided pins j, j get to the highest position and other portions get lower than the ends. Consequently, if any of the other portions abuts against the cassette case b, the guided pins j, j cannot be engaged with the guide grooves k, k.
If the above-mentioned the other portions that may interfere the above-mentioned engagement are removed from the cassette case b, portions m and n adjacent to an inner face l of the top lid h exist no longer when the lid is in the closed position. Consequently, if the top lid h is pressed downward, there is no portion that rigidly supports the pressing force, thereby easily bending the top lid h. The easy bending of the top lid h gives a user a feeling of lack of rigidity and permits penetration of foreign matter from a gap produced by the bending into the cassette case.
There is still another problem in the conventional tape cassette 101. That is, when the front lid 106 moves to the lid open position, the closing projection 112 provided on the front lid 106 may touch the magnetic tape 105 to damage it.
To be more specific, in the lid closed position, the closing projection 112 is positioned adjacent to the magnetic tape 105. When the front lid 106 moves from the closed position to the open position, an upper edge 112' moves very close to the magnetic tape 105 as indicated with a single dot & dash line 113 of FIG. 32.
Consequently, as shown with a solid line 114 of FIG. 31, the above-mentioned problem does not occur when the magnetic tape 105 is pulled up tight; but if the magnetic tape 105 is slack as indicated with a double dot & dash line 115 of FIG. 31, the upper edge 112' of the closing projection 112 may catch the magnetic tape 105 when the front lid 106 moves to the lid open position, thereby damaging the magnetic tape.